Today, the Opening Stage of the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 for CS2 concluded, resulting in the formation of the Elimination group. The first stage of the major was filled with unexpected rises and swift downfalls of ambitious clubs. In this article, together with Konstantin Leniniw Sivko, we will summarize the Opening Stage at the Shanghai Major.
Leniniw is a caster at Maincast studio, working in Counter-Strike since 2013. During this period, he has commentated on numerous majors and S-tier championships.
Everything as Expected
Before the start of the Opening Stage, the main favorites to pass with a 3:0 record were Team Liquid and The Mongolz. And so it happened. The team from Mongolia demonstrated more confident CS, as evidenced by the individual player stats — four representatives of the team are in the top 5 players of the stage.
Liquid faced a bit more difficulty. In the first two rounds, the team encountered serious resistance from Cloud9 and Wildcard Gaming, and in the third, they had to play all three maps against the challenging FlyQuest. Despite the difficulties, Liquid still came through with a 3:0 record, living up to the community's expectations.
Both teams were on my list to pass with a 3:0 record and they did not disappoint. Liquid plays good CS and proved once again that they can come back in tough matches, like against Cloud9. Their entry into the playoffs will be quite significant.
It's hard to say much about Mongolz, as their opponents were easy. Mongolz simply swept them. Playing at the same level against tier-1 teams will be difficult. However, it would be interesting to see them in the playoffs.Leniniw
Breakthrough of American CS
In the Opening Stage, representatives of the American region made a real breakthrough — five out of eight teams advancing to the Elimination Stage are from this region. While the advancement of Liquid, FURIA Esports, and paiN Gaming was expected by many, MIBR and especially Wildcard outperformed expectations. Now, the American region will have eight slots in the next major, unlike the current seven. Meanwhile, Europe lost one slot in the BLAST.tv Austin Major 2025.
Main Disappointments
The Opening Stage also pointed out several ambitious clubs urgently needing restructuring — Complexity Gaming, Cloud9, Fnatic, and Virtus.pro. While the management of Complexity is constantly in contact with the community and seeking improvement options, the management of the other three teams keeps encountering failure after failure. The current roster of Fnatic can even be called the worst in the organization's history. Maybe they no longer hope to return to the tier-1 scene. While Complexity might improve results with one or two changes, the others need to radically change their development direction and think of something new.
Disappointment is the feeling of unmet expectations. My expectations regarding Pick’Em were fulfilled, and the fate of most teams in the first stage is indifferent to me. VP can be highlighted, but their CS has degraded over time. Their failure to advance should be a serious indication of problems. Passion UA is regrettable, but they've already exceeded expectations, so they have only respect.Leniniw
They Managed to Surprise Many
The first stage of the Chinese major did not go without pleasant surprises. Before the start of the tournament, few believed in any worthy result from GamerLegion, Wildcard, and Passion UA, but they proved otherwise. GamerLegion advanced to the Elimination Stage with a 3:1 record, and Wildcard proved stronger than Passion UA in the battle for the last slot. Players from all three teams delivered an impressive performance and won the hearts of thousands of fans worldwide.
Many sensations: both Wildcard in the main stage and Passion UA, who almost succeeded. Even FlyQuest, who ended up in the club of losers with 2:0 in the Swiss format, but brought emotions. CS has become very competitive not only at the tier-1 but also at the tier-2 level.Leniniw
What Made the Opening Stage Memorable at the Chinese Major?
The main highlight of the Opening Stage was the packed venue with four thousand fans. The supporters actively cheered for literally every team and engaged with everyone. However, there was a downside to this — the crowd constantly hinted to one team or another, influencing the outcome of a round. Despite this, the fans were just amazing and eager for big CS in their country.
The next stage of Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024 will begin on December 5. Sixteen teams will face off for a spot in the tournament playoffs. You can follow the news, schedule, and results of the event through this link.
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